Our farmers are first class

TWO South Gippsland farming families are among the best farmers in Victoria, after being named finalists in The 2015 Farmer of the Year competition run by The Weekly Times.
Toby, Lyn and Nick Leppin and his partner Sarah of Bena were finalists in the dairy farmer of the year category, while Phil, Brad and Irene Gale of Waratah Bay were finalists in the beef farmer of the year section.
The Gales run a self replacing herd of 600 breeders, and also trade 300 to 400 head of cattle a year.
In May 2015, the Gales won the JBS Producer of the Year. They aim to produce cattle that suit the JBS Swift Great Southern Farm Assurance brand.
“To ensure this happens, we need to supply adequate nutrition throughout all stages of the animal’s life, regardless of the seasonal conditions,” Irene said.
“We also use low stress animal handling techniques which maximises carcass performance.”
Irene said the family appreciated farmers being recognised for their achievements.
“It is always great to see the hard work of anyone pay off,” she said.
The Leppins pay attention to measurements – soil nutrients, pasture consumption, milk production and cost of production – to get the most from their land.
“You can’t manage it if you don’t measure it and that’s just not peculiar to farming,” Toby said.
The family runs Aussie Reds due to their lower incidence of mastitis and better fertility.
The Leppins choose to artificially inseminate cows to improve calving rates to avoid bringing new stock on to the property.
The winners will be announced in tomorrow’s Weekly Times.

Standout team: from left, Bena’s Toby Leppin and son Nick Leppin are finalists in the dairy farmer of the year section of The 2015 Farmer of the Year competition run by The Weekly Times. Photo courtesy of The Weekly Times.

Classy cattle: Brad Gale and his family of Waratah Bay were among three finalists in the beef farmer section of the 2015 Farmer of the Year competition run by The Weekly Times. Photo courtesy of The Weekly Times.

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Posted by Sarah Vella on Mar 1 2016. Filed under Rural News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry